1. Case-study No. & Title
177. Project ‘Mozaic’ for kindergarten level education, Skopje, Kumanovo, Gostivar, Struga, Debar; Macedonia

Keywords:

2. Author information
2.1 Author’s Name:
Sreten Koceski

2.2 Institutional Affiliation and Contact Details:

Sreten Koceski (Chairman of Mladinski informativen centar)
Mladinski informativen centar
JNA N^o 14
1220 Tetovo
R. Macedonia

Tel/Fax:+389-70-250-286
E-mail: mic_sreten@yahoo.com

2.3 Date recorded:
5 February 2001

3. Good Practice Information Sheet
3.1 Local Level Good Practice:
This project has the two main elements of a) Introducing a bilingual approach in kindergarten-level education and b) Introducing to kindergartens a child-centred pedagogy, which includes conflict resolution skills.

The following steps were taken by the project:
a) Preparatory work with teachers: The cities that were chosen for the implementation of the project are in the north east of Macedonia, which is a region with ethnically-mixed population. In co-operation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy it was decided which kindergartens were appropriate for the implementation of the project. The next step was choosing teachers who will be given training for working with ethnically-mixed groups. They were given training in child development, conflict-resolution, bilingualism, communication with children, stereotypes and prejudice, planning and other themes.

After preparatory work with the teachers the next step was to make a new programme of activities, which was substantially different to that of ordinary kindergartens. New methods included working in small groups, more interactive communication and social skills.

b) Involving the parents: The parents of the children in the project were involved through meetings at which they were able to present their ideas and participate in decisions affecting their child.

c) Offering possibility for employment: Over and above giving the children an opportunity to experience something new and useful, this project also meant the creation of new jobs. Not only were the salaries higher than the salaries of the teachers in the ordinary kindergarten but the Mozaik–teachers were also given full training for the work with teachers and with other adults.

d) Long-term prospects for the project: Although the local community and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy played only a minor role part in the project, they are eager to participate in its further development after observing the very positive results the project has had so far

3.2 Location:
The project was implemented mainly in the western part of Macedonia and covered the cities of Skopje, Kumanovo, Gostivar, Struga and Debar. These cities were chosen because they are ethnically mixed. In the cities of Gostivar, Struga, Debar and Kumanovo the percentage of the population with Albanian nationality is very high and there is a need to establish co-operation between different ethnic groups.

3.3 Minority/Target Groups:
Minority: Albanians
Target group: Albanian and Macedonian children from 4 to 6 years

3.4 Major Actors Involved:

3.5 Budget allocated by local government authorities and/or by other actors:
The budget is not available

3.6 Timeframe:
The initiative was first proposed in 1997, officially launched in February 1998, put into practice in September 1998. Current arrangements run to 2002 but the initiative is expected to continue as a standard choice for people whose children attend the kindergarten.

3.7 Local level good practice relation to national level ethnic policy:
The proposal for a new law on kindergartens will allow for improvements in kindergartens, and for competition between public and private kindergartens that will stimulate better pedagogical conditions. In the longer run the Mozaik project should be integrated into the public (and impending private) system, and its public manifestations could then be financed through the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

Since transparency is one of the main objectives of the current Macedonian government, a proposal for a conference on the impact and effectiveness of various pedagogical approaches at kindergarten level, including Mozaik, would be welcomed and supported by this Ministry. Another component of this conference could be a debate on the implications and consequences of the proposed new Law for Child Protection (which has not yet been passed by the parliament). In order to overcome some lingering suspicion (especially among Macedonians), the implementation of Mozaik needs more time and (external) support. This Ministry is willing to undertake a step-by-step approach in the direction of the further introduction, integration and implementation of Mozaik (in the longer run, after the successful implementation of the experimental phases which are being undertaken now, this also implies financial support).

4. Good Practice Description:
The Republic of Macedonia is not a country at serious risk of facing violent conflict as far as ethnic relations are concerned. This is not to say that ethnic tensions are not present, however. Interethnic distrust and apprehension continuously hinders Macedonia’s population in its progress towards the establishment of healthy political and economic institutions. Fear, miscommunication, and divergent opinions on the future of the country inhibit the people of Macedonia from realising the best that a multicultural society has to offer.

Macedonians and Albanians – along with small percentages of Turks, Serbs, Vlachs, and Roma – live in a web of cultural, linguistic, and religious differences. But although Macedonia is one of the most ethnically mixed countries of former Yugoslavia, its society is profoundly segregated. That is why the project was implemented mainly in the western part of Macedonia and covering the cities of Skopje, Kumanovo, Gostivar, Struga and Debar. These cities were chosen because they are ethnically mixed. In the cities of Gostivar, Struga, Debar and Kumanovo the percentage of the Albanian nationality is very high and there is a need for establishing co-operation between different ethnic groups, in this case Macedonians and Albanians.

The segregation in all spheres of life along ethnic lines is enormous. Television and radio stations are controlled and operated either by Albanian or Macedonian owners and broadcast exclusively in their respective languages from their respective viewpoints. Private clubs, theatres, and restaurants rarely serve a constituency that is diverse in any significant way.

The public school system is also heavily segregated. Children of a single ethnicity grow up together, speaking one language in the classroom. Friendships are formed within their respective groups and rarely cross religious and cultural lines. A general lack of communication across ethnic and linguistic barriers inhibits interethnic understanding and hardens ethnic stereotypes.

Education plays a crucial and fundamental role in developing and transforming people and societies. Another important aspect of education is, however, conservation and the handing down to the subsequent generations of the cultural heritage (including language), values and beliefs. It is a great challenge to the educational system to balance the two: transformation and conservation. This is the case everywhere but even more so in multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies. To put it in other words, the task is to prepare children for their future roles in a dynamic and fast changing world (transformation), without losing track of their roots (conservation).

Education already starts at a very young age. Kindergarten can and perhaps even should play its part in preparing children for their future roles in society. The Mozaik interethnic kindergarten project in the Republic of Macedonia expresses explicitly its involvement and commitment to this (including both transformation and conservation). It is their objective to:

Search for Common Ground in Macedonia (SCGM) is the co-operative field office of SFCG (Search for Common Ground) and ECCG (European Centre for Common Ground)
and is based in Skopje. Among other educational and media-oriented programmes they develop and implement the Mozaik-kindergarten approach, in co-operation with the Ethnic Conflict Resolution Project (ECRP) of the Department of Psychology, University of Skopje.

The pedagogical and didactical approach of the project Mozaik is emphatically child-centred, aiming to enforce children‘s self-esteem, self-confidence and the development of a positive and realistic self-concept (self-image). Furthermore this approach aims to create an environment that allows respect for characteristic and sometimes differing cultural features.
The pedagogical/didactical approach of Mozaik is based on four elements. First, Mozaik follows the official (regular) kindergarten programme of the Republic of Macedonia in relation to the educational programme. Second, the Mozaik programme emphasises social-emotional goals in the process of socialisation of children (thus giving it a different scope from the standard programme). A third important aspect of the Mozaik-approach is conflict resolution. The approach on Mozaik conflict resolution games is based on the collaborative negotiation and mediation model developed by Raider and Coleman from the International Center for Co-operation and Conflict Resolution, Columbia University, New York. Teachers were trained to apply this model in resolving conflicts among adults. The same model was adjusted by the Department of Psychology in Skopje to fit teachers' approach to resolving conflicts with or among children, offering them an opportunity to acquire conflict resolution skills through experience: Mozaik-teachers tend to act as mediators/facilitators in resolving conflicts among children, thus empowering them to come to a joint solution by themselves. Teachers are trained to use collaborative negotiation when in conflict with a child and to use group problem-solving strategies (based on brainstorming and consensus building) whenever necessary for arriving at a group solution.

Looking for common interests: involvement of the local authorities
Search for Common Ground is an international NGO with headquarters in Washington DC. The organisation frequently works in partnership with the European Center for Common Ground in Brussels. The Macedonian branch, Search for Common Ground in Macedonia (SCGM) has been working on conflict-prevention projects in Macedonia since 1994 and works primarily in education and media. The kindergarten project has been conducted in collaboration with the Ethnic Conflict Resolution Project at the Psychology Department of the Philosophy Faculty at the University in Skopje since 1998. Mozaik kindergartens are part of an already-existing network of conventional kindergartens. Kindergartens fall under the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and SCGM has built up a good working relationship with them and has gained full permission to implement and operate the project.

So the above-mentioned Ministry and its branches in the cities where the project is being carried out had some part in this project. Their part was to provide kindergartens, to get into contact with the local community who for their part supported the project by logistics and co-ordination, getting in touch with the kindergarten staff and local people.

Project aims
The Mozaik interethnic kindergarten project of SCGM started in 1998 with the following aims:

The project seeks to implement its goals by means of the two key elements mentioned above, the introduction of a bilingual approach in each class in kindergarten, and the introduction of a child-centred pedagogy, that includes conflict resolution skills.

Bilingualism
The bilingual technique works through paraphrasing, not translation. Teachers speak only in their mother-tongue (Macedonian and Albanian, in the future other languages are possible as well) so that the children have the most solid model possible for the shaping of their own linguistic skills. They also have the most correct model for introduction to the other language. The children are allowed to express themselves as they want.

When giving instructions or telling stories, the teachers speak in tandem, always paraphrasing in some way what the other said before continuing. This way they do not loose time in translation. At an individual level the teachers often engage children who speak the other language. At the beginning of the year the teachers often have to ask for the help of their colleagues who speak the language of the child in such situations. After a few months, however, the language difference ceases to be an issue between the teachers and the children.

They are always 50/50 percent Macedonian and Albanian teachers in each group or class. It is not the purpose that children really learn the other language, but that they receive exposure to the other language and pick up words and phrases.

Pedagogy
Mozaik-kindergarten children are in mixed groups of 4-6 year-olds. This includes the special class for six-year old children preparing them for primary education.

The pedagogical and didactical approach is emphatically child-centred, aiming at enforcing children‘s self-esteem, self-confidence and the development of a positive and realistic self-concept (self-image). Furthermore, this approach aims at creating an environment which allows respect for characteristic and sometimes differing cultural features.

Teachers try to accommodate every individual child and its specific needs and possibilities. They make use of didactical methods like drawing, guided fantasy, dance, story-telling, making puppets, singing, playing with toys, drama, etc., all aiming at the objectives stated above.

From a pedagogical point of view Mozaik teachers are very child-friendly, looking at them when they are speaking with them, being patient and respectful, and hugging the children frequently. Clearly the children feel very much at ease, comfortable and safe. Teachers are trained to observe each child and to write monthly reports on the social, emotional, perceptive and physical developments, as well as on the logical appreciation, games playing and use of toys, of every individual child (using a pre-composed checklist). This way teachers try to accommodate every child and every group of children. Another aspect is the successful introduction at kindergarten level of conflict resolution games and approaches.

Each group consists of 20 to 24 children with 2 Albanian and 2 Macedonian teachers. In the first part of the day one teacher is available, in the second two teachers, in the third four teachers and in the last three teachers. The number of teachers allows them to split up into different age groups when necessary from a pedagogical and didactical viewpoint.

Twelve teachers were trained in the first year (1998) and 15 were trained in 2000 in order to open three new groups and fill three spaces in the existing groups. The training of the first group of 12 teachers consisted of 16 seminars of 3-5 days duration covering child development, conflict-resolution, bilingualism, communication with children, stereotypes and prejudice, planning and other themes.

Major conclusions
Mozaik has been successfully introduced and implemented in the Republic of Macedonia, according to all its objectives.

The financial support for the project
The Suisse Agency for International Development was the main body funding of the project. Additional funds were also provided by the international NGO Search for Common Ground and the Macedonian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

Parents’ reaction to the project
Parents are attracted by both the bilingual aspect and the pedagogical approach of Mozaik. Looking at their ethnic background: Albanian parents greatly appreciate both elements, but especially the bilingual aspect, Macedonian parents are highly appreciative as well, but appear to put slightly more emphasis on the pedagogical approach.

Most parents interviewed belong to the so-called ‘middle class’ who hold responsible jobs, are well educated, and have a busy daily schedule. This is a normal and almost necessary and inevitable feature: most innovations are initially adopted by middle-class people, especially where social and cultural phenomena (like educational improvements) are concerned.

Parents perceived an the urgent need for a fast dissemination of the Mozaik-approach throughout the country, for the sake of a peaceful future, as well as a need for more Mozaik-kindergartens in their own neighbourhood (many parents travel a long distance to bring their children to a Mozaik-group); there is also a need for a Mozaik school-bus to collect the children in the morning and bring them home in the afternoon.

Many parents expressed their desire for a Mozaik-like follow-up at primary level schools. A few others suggested starting Mozaik groups featuring Macedonian-English and Albanian-English, in order to promote the international orientation of their children, linked with the Macedonian-Albanian group.

Teachers’ reaction to the project
According to the teachers involved, the Mozaik approach offers them more professional satisfaction, it promotes the personal and professional growth of the teachers, teachers have the opportunity to speak freely about their own views and experiences, they acquire negotiation skills and conflict resolution skills themselves, their own creativity is stimulated and intensified, their work is highly appreciated within their social circle of relatives and close friends, they obtain a slightly higher income than their colleagues in conventional kindergartens. For those teachers who are professional psychologists it seems that they see this job in positive terms and as a good opportunity to improve their own knowledge and skills, in order to increase their career chances.

Opposition to the project
Parents sometimes are in need of support in dealing with family members or neighbours who oppose the bilingual and multicultural approach of Mozaik. Through parent-school partnership programmes and school-neighbourhood partnership programmes Mozaik can help them face this opposition.

The future
In the longer run the Mozaik project could and should be integrated into the public (and impending private) kindergarten system, thus it could be financed through the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. Making kindergarten compulsory (starting at the age of four) is an option that should be taken into consideration by the Macedonian Government and Parliament.

Establishment of permanent (self) evaluation (through appropriate assessment procedures) and programme monitoring, both on quantitative (numbers of children, numbers of teachers, numbers of kindergarten classes, financial issues, etc.) and qualitative aspects (quality assessments of curriculum, of teachers conduct, of leadership at all levels, of parents involvement, on programme effectiveness, etc.) is also needed.

Last but not least there is the issue of ownership, both financial and organisational. There is the question of who owns Mozaik, now and in the future? Is it SCGM, the Department of Psychology, the teachers and their tutors, the parents, the kindergarten hosting Mozaik programmes, the Macedonian government, the Macedonian society, the Swiss embassy? Future sustainability relies to a large extent on the answer given to this question. Each owner/stakeholder (or combination of owners/stakeholders) needs to develop its own strategy for future dissemination and sustainability. Therefore, Mozaik staff should start a series of consultations and/or workshops among stakeholders and beneficiaries in order to find an answer to this crucial question and, depending on the answers, to develop a sound strategy for longstanding sustainability and further dissemination of this challenging and appealing approach.